APRIL 17, 2011

CARBONDALE, Ill. - On the strength of its 12th-straight victory, a 5-2 decision over Southern Illinois on Sunday (April 17), the 63rd-rated Drake men's tennis team clinched no worse than a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown.

The Bulldogs will close their regular season campaign next Saturday (April 23) at Wichita State.  A victory over the Shockers gives Drake its fourth outright MVC title in the last five seasons, while a loss likely creates as many as a three-way tie between the Bulldogs, Wichita State and Illinois State for the league's championship and the coveted No. 1 tournament seed.

Drake swept the doubles competition with the tandem of junior Cesar Bracho (Luque, Paraguay) and sophomore Ryan Drake (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) clinching the deciding tally downing Orhan Spahic and Jordan Snyder, 8-6, at the No. 3 position.

Sophomore Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) and junior Jonathan Hadash (Lapid, Israel) stretched the advantage to 3-0 in singles with wins at the Nos. 1 and 5 slots, respectively.

Winning his 12th straight singles contest was Ghorbel, who downed Adam Fabik, 6-2, 6-3, before Hadash bested Spahic, 6-3, 6-2.

Sophomore Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) then secured the triumph with a 7-5, 6-3, victory, his 10th consecutive, over Brandon Florez at the No. 3 slot.

Drake rounded out the Bulldogs' win total registering a 6-1, 6-3 victory past Snyder at No. 6.

Drake closes out its schedule with an 11:00 a.m. tilt at Wichita State next Saturday (April 23).

NO. 63 DRAKE (18-2, 4-0 MVC) DEF. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (9-6, 1-2 MVC), 5-2

APRIL 17, 2011 • CARBONDALE, ILL.

SINGLES:

No. 1 Anis Ghorbel (DU) def. Adam Fabik (SIU), 6-2, 6-3

No. 2 Jorge Cavero (SIU) def. James McKie (DU), 6-4, 6-0

No. 3 Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Brandon Florez (SIU), 7-5, 6-3

No. 4 Carlos Do Val (SIU) def. Cesar Bracho (DU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-3

No. 5 Jonathan Hadash (DU) def. Orhan Spahic (SIU), 6-3, 6-2

No. 6 Ryan Drake (DU) def. Jordan Snyder (SIU), 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish: 1,5,3,6,2,4

DOUBLES:

No. 1 Mauricio Ballivian/Ghorbel (DU) def. Fabik/Florez (SIU), 8-4

No. 2 Erasmus/McKie (DU) def. Cavero/Do Val (SIU), 8-5

No. 3 Bracho/Drake (DU) def. Spahic/Snyder (SIU), 8-6

Order of Finish: 1,3,2